Author's note: Yeah...sorry about the long flashback. It's a bit of a recap for all fate/stay night fans, but it's necessary. For those who know the meeting of Lancer, Saber, and Berserker inside out, feel free to skip the flashback.
Shirou was in a good mood. The damsel in distress had been saved, the Hyugas were happy, and his students were getting the living daylights beaten out of them. Life was good for Shirou.
The genins of team Kakashi were in a bad mood. Saber was dancing around their every effort to hit him. For some reason, Saber was performing even better than before. Earlier sparring had shown Saber to dodge with the least effort. Now, it appeared as if Saber was dancing, dancing in the face of their efforts. Nothing could hit him. Sasuke and Naruto would try to expose his back for Sakura only for him to twirl in mid attack and trip her. Saber was leaping over thrown kunai, leaning from strikes, and pirouetting around jutsus. In short, this sparring match sucked royally.
'Their teamwork is improving dramatically. Funny how people improve when they want to hit someone.' Shirou mused as he leaned under a thrown shuriken. 'And sometimes, the person doesn't have to be there to make you improve.'
It always came down to her. No matter how hard he tried, Shirou felt the loss of Saber's company keenly. Shirou had made a lifetime of sacrifice following an ideal and a legend. Not even sure if the legend was real, he kept searching, looking for a way to be with Saber. A lifetime spent looking for her, only to find her was the greatest moment of his existence. To be taken from her, it was like a sword in the back.
'I've got to focus, can't let them have the satisfaction of hitting me.'
Deep down, Shirou knew he was rusty. Over his lifetime, he had honed his body like a sword. Like a sword of justice, he slashed and killed the wielders of injustice. When he had earned his rest, he had softened. It would take time to hone himself into a blade once more.
Shirou kicked Naruto's feet out from under him. Using the gap, Shirou jumped over the fallen Naruto and ran straight for Sasuke interrupting a jutsu. One hit, and the Sasuke exploded in a puff of smoke, revealing that the Sasuke was a fake. 'Clever' Shirou silently approved. Throwing a wooden sword to his left, Shirou nailed the real Sasuke in the gut. 'But it needs improvement.'
Throwing his other sword to his right, Sakura went down from a blow to her head.
"Why do you insist on not protecting your head right Sakura? Either raise you hands or wear your protector correctly." Shirou ordered
"Yes sir" Sakura yelled. The team had learned early on that complaining earned them laps around the field or extra hits on the body. Not that they had much time to complain to begin with. Any openings were exploited with painful raps. Naruto and Sasuke threw themselves into the training with as much enthusiasm as a kids on Christmas. Sakura hadn't been as enthusiastic, but she was taking the matches seriously.
The team had been sparring for hours, and Shirou saw that this was a good time for private consultations. This would give him time for more personal advice, as well as give the team a breather.
Leaping back from the team Shirou yelled "Enough! Everyone, take a water break." Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura all groaned with relief, water and rest were exactly what they needed. The young trio walked over to the stumps and retrieved their canteens. Shirou watched with amusement as they quickly drained their water supply.
"Everyone, I'm going to take you one at a time and discuss something with each of you. While I'm talking to one of you, I want the rest of you to relax for a bit. Sasuke you're up first"
Sasuke calmly followed Shirou to the other end of the clearing while Naruto and Sakura collapsed.
At the opposite end of the field, Shirou turned to Sasuke "You're not focusing."
Sasuke glared at Shirou "What makes you say that?'
Shirou's eyes tightened a bit "You're not looking at me, you're looking at who you want to kill."
Sasuke snorted at that.
"I'm serious Sasuke. It's throwing you off. You need to focus on the enemy in front of you. Focusing on an enemy not there will send you to an early grave before your target."
Shirou saw that he was talking to a wall. 'Well, nothing to do but take a sledgehammer to it'
Shirou broke into an evil smile. He was proud of this smile, Rin would have applauded at him. The smile promised mischief, pain, and death.
Sasuke felt a small shiver run down his back.
"Since you seem to know more than me," Shirou said in an evil voice "I think I'll have to increase your training. I think I'll start using real weapons from now on."
Shirou was assured that he could hit Sasuke without seriously hurting him, but being nicked a thousand times would improve Sasuke's attitude immensely. "You may leave Sasuke, send Sakura my way."
Sakura soon came, it was obvious that she was nervous. Both Saber and Sakura knew that she was the least physical of the group, but that was the least of Shirou's concerns
"Sakura, you need to stop focusing on Sasuke." Shirou reprimanded
Sakura flinched at that. Every time Sasuke was hurt, her own guard would drop leaving her vulnerable to an attack.
"It's obvious you have feelings for him," Shirou said. Sakura blushed at how her clumsy her attempts were. Every attempt at getting closer to him had been rejected.
"Little advice for you Sakura," Shirou said softly. "You're what 12? 13?"
"12, sir" Sakura replied
"Don't try to force things. You're still young, you have plenty of time to find out if he's the right one." Shirou smirked a bit "I suggest you work on yourself first. Once you stop acting like a fan girl, you can begin building a real relationship."
"B-but, what if he never notices me?" Sakura asked. She was scared, scared that he would love someone else. What if Ino pig grabbed him first. 'NO WAY IN HELL' Inner Sakura thought.
Shiou sighed and sat down. He patted the ground next to him indicating she should sit down. Once Sakura sat down Shirou 's eyes looked wistful, "I know all about love at first sight Sakura. Every time I close my eyes, I still see my love the night I met her. She was so radiant, so beautiful. I thought I had died and encountered an angel."
Shirou looked at Sakura and asked "Are you willing to do what it takes to love someone? Are you willing to sacrifice your very being for him? Are you willing to die for your love?"
Sakura nodded "I am."
"Are you? So far all I have seen is you trying to impose yourself on you." Shirou said. "I know what it is like to see the one you love not look at you other than a comrade. To feel love and not be loved back."
Shirou looked down at the ground. "At first, I tried to impose my own beliefs on her. All I accomplished was make her push back against me. It took gentleness and understanding for her to see how I viewed her. Before we had to part, we were truly in love. We understood each others strengths and flaws and forgave them. Before she left me, her last words were 'I love you'"
Sakura saw the sadness in Saber's eyes. He looked as if he would weep if he had anymore tears to shed.
"She left you?" Sakura asked
Shirou nodded once "Yes, she had to go. She had a duty to perform, and I...I would not stain her honor."
"Did you ever meet again?" Sakura asked, part of her wanted to comfort Saber. It was clear that the decision had cost him dearly.
Shirou smiled warmly at that "Yes, it took a long time, but we were reunited. She still loves me, and I still love her."
Sakura felt herself crying slightly. 'How romantic' She thought. It was like a storybook tale of love lost and found again.
Shirou returned to the discussion at hand, "My suggestion Sakura is try to listen to Sasuke. His heart is full of rage and hatred. Right now, any other emotion is viewed as a waste to him. I'll work on smoothing his edges, but you need to understand that what you are doing now is pushing yourself onto him. Watch him, listen to him, offer to spar with him and come up with new tactics. One day, if you're lucky, he'll look at you and you'll see his eyes soften. He might find himself gazing at you for long hours finding pleasure by being in your company."
Shirou placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder "Love is a cruel thing Sakura. When we love and are not loved in turn, our world drowns in sadness. When we see the ones we love get hurt, it hurts us. When the ones who love us dismiss us, we feel like we've been stabbed with a knife."
Sakura felt herself crying harder now. She felt the pain of Sasuke's rejection. She felt like she was dying. Sakura feared that she would never feel what Saber did for his love. The way he spoke of her, the passion in his voice, it hurt to see that he had something he desired.
Shirou opened his arms and Sakura dove in to cry. Shirou hugged Sakura letting her cry her woes away.
When he felt that she had calmed down a bit Shirou continued, "Love, love is a beautiful thing when we are loved in turn. When they laugh, our worries are washed away. When they smile, time stops while we enjoy the view. When we are loved, our strength becomes greater than any obstacle."
Rubbing Sakura's head softly, "If you want him to love you Sakura, look at yourself and see what you need to change. Get stronger, get faster, get him to notice your strengths. Get him to see that there is more to this world than vengeance."
Pushing Sakura back slightly so that she could look at his face, "You Sakura might be the only thing that keeps him from dying young. Keep that in mind for the future,"
Sakura felt stronger with that. In her heart she resolved that she would get strong enough so that she could save Sasuke.
Sakura left and sent Naruto off for his own consultation.
Shirou had noticed a tightness with Naruto and concluded that the Grail war had begun. 'Now how far did he get?' Shirou wondered
Naruto trudged up to Shirou and said "How many times have you died?"
Shirou was honestly caught back by the question. Regaining his composure Shirou asked "Would it be correct in assuming that you saw Lancer?"
Naruto nodded, "And the big black man."
Shirou shuddered at that "Berserker."
Flashback
The night before (1)
Naruto had stayed up late waiting for Saber to return. Yet, no matter how long he waited, Saber hadn't come. So Naruto went to sleep
That night, Naruto began to dream of the Holy Grail war. Naruto dreamed of Saber walking home from school late. There was a crashing sound in the background, like two metal objects constantly colliding. Naruto watched as Saber walked to the source of the sound to find an amazing sight. Naruto had to dream blink to make sure that he was seeing this correctly. It looked like an adult Saber was battling a man in blue armor with a red spear. Naruto was speechless at the battle before him. This duel was epic, neither side backed down, neither side willing to flee. Naruto had known that Saber was strong, but this adult Saber might be better.
It was hard to tell as he had never seen Saber go all out against an even opponent. Suddenly, young Saber stepped on a twig; both combatants halted their battle. Naruto knew that Saber was now a target. Saber ran, dodging weaving, finally entered a building and ran up several stories. Naruto was sure that Saber had escaped.
"Yo," Said the blue man who had appeared in front of Saber. "You did a good job running this far for a human. Don't take this personal kid, you just had bad luck" The man in blue raised his red spear and plunged it into Saber.
Naruto knew that Saber was dying right then
'Wait, that doesn't make sense' Naruto thought 'He can't die, he said he was a hero'
"No, not you . Why did it have to be you?" a girls voice rang from the darkness, the voice sounded horrified at the sight of a dying Saber "I don't care, I'm using it" The voice spoke again. It sounded like an argument
Naruto saw the darkness recede, Saber was alive, and the wound was healed. Naruto watched as Saber stood up only to trip over something. It was a ruby arrowhead on a chain. Saber pocketed the gem and ran home trying to put as much distance from the building as possible
It didn't work.
One minute, Saber was relaxing in his house trying to convince himself that it was a dream when the lights went out. Naruto watched in horror as the blue man crashed from the ceiling. Shirou dodged and blocked a few blows, only to be kicked out of the window. The blue man rammed his spear into Saber's chest again, only for it to meet resistance. For some reason, the lance couldn't pierce Saber's heart. Saber tried to stand, but was kicked even harder than before into the shed.
Saber ran into the shed and prepared for a last stand. Naruto noticed that the ground around him was glowing. Saber's arm was glowing as well, though, he was understandably looking at the door way. As the spearman burst into the room, a flash of gold and blue shot forward and knocked the spearman out of the shed.
Naruto watched in rapt attention as the blue flash turned into a girl. She was short, little more than five feet tall. Her hair was as yellow as Naruto's, her eyes were as green as the forest. She wore a blue dress with armor plating in it. She was, in a word, beautiful.
"I ask of you, are you my Master?" the girl questioned. Naruto recognized the question, Saber had asked him the very same question. Like Naruto, Saber was stunned by the woman.
"Servant Saber," The girl said, "In response to your summonings, I have come forth."
"Master?" Saber was saying to the woman "You're saying you're a servant?"
"Yes," The girl said looking down at Saber's hand "The command seals on your hand are proof that you are my Master." The girl's tone turned formal, like a well rehearsed speech "From this moment on my blade shall rest in your hands, and your destiny rests in my hands. With this, our contract is completed."
The girl turned towards the spearman. "It appears that our enemy is still on the premise. Master, wait here while I attend to the matter." With that, the girl dashes out towards the spearman.
The spearman is grinning at the sight of the girl. It is clear that he does not underestimate her. Rather, he looks like he plans on enjoying the fight. "Yo," He says, his spear stands at the ready. "Just to make sure, you don't intend to save this fight for later. Your Master clearly has no clue what he's getting into."
Naruto watches as the girl takes a stance. It is a strange one, it looks like she's holding something, but there's nothing there.
"I refuse," The girl states. "Once servants meet, there is no next time."
"Ha! Well said" The spearman says as he charges.
The girl swings her empty arms, and the spear is deflected, the spearman is sent back several feet from the blow. "You cheater," The spearman yells. "Have you no shame, using an invisible weapon?"
She charges, the man has to jump back from the attack. Several more blows are exchanged, and it is clear that the man is unused to the invisible weapon.
The spearman breaks free "Tell me, is that weapon a sword?"
The girl waves her right arm slightly "Who knows? It could be an sword, an ax, maybe even a bow."
The man clearly finds the jest in poor taste "Yeah right, Saber." The man shakes his head a bit "To think I got stuck with this worthless scouting mission. I had all but given up hope for this Grail War, but it seems that I get a few perks."
"You seem to like to mouth off." The girl reprimand. "If you're going to talk, talk with your spear Lancer."
"Ha, haha, hahahahaha" Lancer cackles, "All right then Saber"
The man enters a strange stance, the spear is pointing straight down, and it begins to pulse "I'll use my weapon to destroy you"
The man leaps into the air, "GAE" The spear flies from his hands "BOLG"
Naruto wasn't sure what happened. One moment, the spear was flying towards the ground, then it seems to twist, flying for the girl instead. It is only by the girl's reflexes that the spear misses her heart.
"No way," Lancer says, he is clear stunned "You managed to dodge Gae Bolg?"
"Gae Bolg?" The girl says, also stunned, "That would make you the Hound of Ulster?"
"Tch" Lancer spat "Too bad, I can't believe my identity was found out so soon." He turns and begins to leave
"Running away Lancer?" The girl mocks. She is covering her wound with her hand.
"Have to," Lancer shrugs "My Master's orders were to flee if my identity was ever discovered."
He continues to walk. Shouting back, "But please, follow me if you have a death wish."
"Wait" the girl yells. She attempts to follow but falls to her knees from the pain. The spear may not have hit her heart, but she is clearly in pain.
Saber rushes to her side, but the girl holds her hand up. She stands, her wound has healed.
"What are you people?" Shirou shouts at her "What's going on?"
"I told you," the Servant lectures " I'm a Servant, summoned to fight for the Holy Grail"
"But what's that supposed to mean? Servant? Holy Grail?" Saber is showing signs of shock and mild hysteria, understandable given the circumstances.
"I see...you really don't know" the girl says, confirming her fears. "The Grail war is a battle between seven Master's and their Servants in order to obtain the Holy Grail. When only one Master and Servant remain, the Holy Grail will appear and grant the winner any wish they desire. Servants serve as the weapons of Masters to obtain this Grail."
She raised her hand and points to Saber "And you, my Master, have been chosen to participate in the war as one of the Masters."
Saber was about to ask something else, when the girl whipped around and faced the entrance "Master, it appears that another enemy is in the area. We will talk later."
She dashes off leaving Saber in the dusk
"Wait" Saber yells chasing after Saber. He turns around the corner in time to see the Adult Saber look-alike slashed from shoulder to chest. The girl tries to finish him off, when a voice yells "Return Archer"
Archer disappears. The girl immediately charges for the source of the voice in the shadows
Saber sees that it is a young girl in red. Before the girl in blue can strike her down, Saber yells "Stop it Saber" Saber's arm glows brightly for a moment.
Naruto watched at an unstoppable blow immediately halts. What should have killed the red girl ceases to move.
The Servant turns to Saber "What are you doing Master? She is clearly an enemy and must be eliminated"
"Who are you to say that someone needs to be eliminated?" Saber demands, "Who are you to say she's an enemy? And even if she is, why does she have to be killed?" Saber is clearly angry at the girl. How dare she try to kill someone in front of him. How dare she presume that it's okay to kill someone. Never again, never again will he let anyone die in front of him.
"What are you saying?" the Servant retorts, "She is accomplished by a servant so there is no doubt that she is a Master; an enemy that Must be defeated at all costs."
Saber points an accusing finger at her "You say you're my Servant didn't you? That I am your Master? In that case, I won't tolerate you taking any independent action until you explain the situation to my satisfaction."
The Servant is clearly taken aback by this outburst
"hmm" comes a third voice. The Servant spins around and faces the source.
"Your both rather composed aren't you? Having an argument in front of an enemy" It is the girl in red
"Anyway," she says unconcerned about her near death experience "How long are you going to keep ignoring me?"
Saber's eye widen with recognition. "T-T-Tosaka-san?"
Rin waves he hand "Yo Emiya-kun," She bows "I suppose I should thank you for saving my life"
Uncaring for the Servant that nearly killed her she boldly walks forward and grabs Saber's hand.
"As I expected," she comments "You used a command seal on that." Looking up at him, "As a Master Emiya, you're going to regret using one of your trump cards so easily."
Naruto looks carefully at her face, there is a hint of a blush on her cheeks as she looks at him. Probably from nearly being cleaved in two.
Saber looks confused "Um, I don't really remember using one though. So...are you really a Master?"
"Huh?" Rin says "Are you telling me that you're unfamiliar with command seals?"
Shirou scratches his head, "Um...I'm really not sure what's going on here. What are command seals?"
Rin places a hand on her forehead. "This is absurd," she complains "I guess you're telling me that you're a complete novice as well." Rin starts walking to Saber's house "Lets talk inside," she says, "I'll give a rough outline of what this war is all about."
Saber enters his home with his Servant beside him. Inside, he puts on a kettle and begins to brew tea. Behind him, Rin and the Servant sit at the table waiting.
"As you can probably tell," Tohsaka says, "I am a Master for the Fifth Holy Grail War, and just like you, I am a Magus."
Saber turns around at that "B-But at school you're a person that anyone can tell is an excellent student, you're like an idol."
Rin's cheeks blush slightly. "Oh," she says in an amused tone "So you think I'm, an idol Emiya?"
Saber is flustered at her tone. Rin smirks at this and says, "A magus must always hide their true colors. After all, you do the same thing."
Saber blinked at that, "You could tell?"
Rin placed her hand on her head again, "Of course, only a magus can summon a Servant."
Removing her hand, she continues to gaze at Saber, "To be honest, it's kind of surprising that you're a magus too. In any case, lets move on to the main topic."
From there, Rin explained to Shirou about the power of command seals and Servants. (2)
Naruto was surprised about the seven different classes of servants 'I wonder if there are any more of them out there? But no matter what, Shirou is Saber to me'
After the explanation, Rin took Saber and his servant out to go somewhere. Naruto couldn't help but snicker at the sight of the girl in a yellow rain jacket. While it was an obvious attempt at not drawing attention, it looked more like a sign saying 'Hey! Look at me!' She was clearly upset at wearing such a ridiculous outfit.
The trio finally arrived at a small church. There was sense of power in the air. The Servant excused herself and was content to wait outside.
Entering the church, Tohsaka called out "Kirie! I know your here."
A priest with the creepiest eyes Naruto had ever seen appeared... no matter what, Naruto could tell... that man... was not an ordinary one, he couldn't see any life on his eyes at all (3)
"Lost already Rin? I'm disappointed in you." The priest spoke. Anyone else would have said that as a joke or a reprimand. This priest spoke like he was discussing the weather.
"Knock it off Kirie, I've brought the seventh master here for confirmation."
"Ah, I see" he responded. Again, his voice was neutral, like it didn't matter. "I welcome you boy. I am Kotomine Kirei."
"You are the supervisor for this war?" Saber asked
"I am, what is your name boy?"
"Emiya Shirou"
Kotomine pauses at this. He looks at Shirou, analyzing him. "I see...well then, you are the last Master then."
Wait" Saber said raising his hand "I'll tell you right now, I have no intention of becoming a master."
"Oh?" Kotomine says, his voice has the echo of shock or suspicion in it. His eyes narrow, turning he calls out "Rin, explain."
"As you can see," she said "He doesn't understand what's going on. I knew it would be dangerous, so I brought him here."
Kotomine turns back to Saber "In that case, I will ask you Emiya Shirou, no matter that you were chosen by some mistake, you were chosen to be a Master by the Holy Grail. If you obtain it, then all your wishes will come true. Knowing that, Are you still going to refuse?"
"No matter how powerful an object it is, it's not worth killing over." Shirou answered
"Are you afraid of killing?" Kirei asks, he sounds contemptuous. "That doesn't sound like the words of a magus. A magus must be prepared to put his life in danger, but it sounds like you are a coward."
"NO!" Saber shouts "It's not that I'm afraid, is imply have no reason to fight. I have no wishes to be granted."
"Really?" Kirei asks "The holy grail grants any wish a magus desires. What will happen if a selfish magus obtains the Grail?"
Saber is taken aback by the revelation.
"You've seen the news about all the accidents around town. Those were no accidents boy. Those were the actions of selfish magi. They make their Servants feed on the souls of their victims"
Saber's hands clench at this information. Through clenched teeth Saber asks "You're saying that innocent people are being involved under my nose?"
"Let me tell you one more thing," Kirei says "This is the fifth Holy grail war. The last war happened about ten years ago. A foolish magus caused a disaster to occur and a large number of innocent people died."
Naruto felt a flash of fear when he heard this. 'The fire, he must be talking about the fire'
Saber was sweating profusely while Kirei continued to talk. Saber was not even listening to the speech. He was too busy reliving his nightmare.
"So? What will you do?" Kirei asks. "Of course, if you choose to refuse after hearing about that, I have no problems with that." His voice, it's like a bucket of ice on Saber. "Everyone values their own life more than their own."
Saber is clenching his teeth so hard that they are beginning to grind. "D-dont screw with me" he growls "I decided to walk the path of my father and become a hero of justice. I won't let anyone else become involved in this nonsensical war"
Rising in anger he yelled, "I WON"T LET THE TRAGEDY OF TEN YEARS AGO REPEAT ITSELF"
Rin falls back from the power of his voice. Saber is not one to yell, but right now his voice is filled with hate and passion. "I'll become a Master or whatever it takes to prevent it from happening."
Kirei claps his hands like this was a stellar performance. "Very well, then I hereby declare the beginning of the fifth Holy Grail War. Abide by your beliefs. Battle to you heart's content."
Stretching his arms out he continues "Rejoice boy, for your wish shall finally be granted"
Rin gets back up, clearly shaken. With a controlled voice she says, "Very well, then our business is done."
Saber walks out, pale at the meaning of the last message. His dream was to be a hero of justice, but for there to be justice, there must be evil. Therefore, he was always wishing for evil.
"Master" the Servant calls out "What's wrong? You're so pale."
Saber looks at his devoted Servant, but all he sees is the fire ten years ago. "It's nothing," he replies
Looking at her Saber continues "Saber, I cannot turn a blind eye to this war. That is my decision as a master"
"That means..." her eyes become alight
"Yes, I might prove unreliable, but please bear with me." Saber holds his arm out for her. She grips it and relies "Yes, my Master"
Shirou rubs his head at this, "Um, could you please stop calling me that. It makes me uncomfortable"
Saber nods at this "Very well, then I shall call you Shirou. Yes I like the sound of that."
Naruto found a great deal of amusement of how similar his own conversation with Saber went
The three started to hear home when a fourth voice called out into the night. At a corner, Tohsaka turned to Emiya and said "This is where we part ways Emiya. Next time we meet we will be enemies."
Saber smiled at her and said "Well, your help meant a lot to me. Thank you."
Rin blushed slightly at this
Saber continued "You're a really nice person Tohsaka. I like people like you."
Rin was now blushing furiously. "Wha-wait a second." She yells "Do you understand our situation at all?"
"I understand," Saber says confused at how Rin is acting at him. "But you helped me out, so...it's only natural that I thank you."
"I-I'm done here" Rin says turning away quickly so that he doesn't see her face. "Tr-try not to be killed to easily."
"So you finally came out Onii-chan. I'm so happy you decided to fight." Saber looked at the source of the voice. It was a little girl wearing a purple outfit with long white hair. But what really caught his attention was the massive black man behind her. Her had one yellow eye and one pure red eye that promised death. In it's hands was the largest sword anyone had ever seen. It looked more like a crudely cut boulder in the shape of a sword than an actual sword. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that a creature wielding that thing is able to cause massive destruction in it's wake.
The girl curtsies and says "Nice to meet you, my name is Illya, Illyasviel Von Einzbern."
"Wha-what did say?" Tohsaka stammers looking at the man looming over Illya.
"You know her Tohsaka?" Saber asks looking at the little girl who is hopping up and down in excitement. Saber's Servant stands in front of him preparing for combat.
"The Einzbern family has participated in every war for the Holy Grail. Every time they send a magus to fight for them." Rin answers, her body shaking from the presence of the giant.
"So, that little girl is a master?' Saber asks
"That's right onii-chan" Illya says happily as she finishes her happy dance. "But you know, there is something I want to do more than obtain the Holy Grail. And that is...to kill you onii-chan"
Saber steps back from the cold look in the girls eyes. No child should have that look. Those eyes, they look like those of a killer.
"You know," Illya continues, "I've been looking forward to this for a long time. That's why, I'll make sure to kill you gently. Go BERSERKER"
"%&#$#*&%" the monster roars as it charges forward. Saver's Servant rushes forward to engage it. The two weapons collide. The force of the collision sounds like an explosion. Again and again two two smash their weapons together trying their best to kill each other. Berserker might be stronger, but the girl is holding her own against him. It defied logic... Someone as small as her should go flying from a single blow, yet, she remains rooted where she stands. Undaunted, unrelenting, she refused to back away. Several times she dodges attacks, but the monster's speed allows it to counter any blows she might have laid.
Rin suddenly grabs Saber and tries to drag him away. "Wh-what are you doing?" He asks trying to get her to let go of his hand.
"You fool!" Rin snaps "We're just getting in her way. Saber is fully capable of finding an opportunity to escape. We need to retreat and think of countermeasures. If we can get..."
Rin stops in mid sentence. Illya has suddenly appeared in front of them. "Running away?" she mocked "Rather thoughtless of you onii-chan. Planning a counter measure? Doesn't matter. Berserker is the strongest Servant ever. After all... he is Herakles, the greatest hero of ancient Greece."
Illya was smiling a terrible smile, it promised retribution for a slight only she could perceive. "Your Saber can't possibly win. No-one is a match for Herakles." As if to punctuate her statement, Saber's Servant is blown away by Berserker. She is bleeding, she's trying to push up from her sword. Naruto can see the outline of her sword from the blood running down it.
"Aha haha hahahaha" Illya laughs "It's hopeless, as long as I have Berserker, I can't lose." Illya points at Saber, "Kill her Berserker."
"$%#^&*^#$%^" the beast roars it raises it's arm up to kill the girl. Naruto watches in horror, waiting for the inevitable.
Saber doesn't hesitate, he charges.
Before the giant blade can kill the girl, Saber pushes her aside.
The blade collides.
Red, the world turns red.
Saber is pierced, not he's been cleaved almost in two.
His ruined body is spraying blood like a fountain... tainting the blue girl's face... her face has a look of shock, not recognizing what had just transpired in front of her... her eyes open in both shock and horror at her master... Saber had part of his body blown away... just a bit... but still more than enough to make it fatal
"Master?"the blue girl said worried and shocked at Saber's actions
"I'm sorry Saber... I guess I can't help being called a fool after this... but I'm really glad that you're okay... Sabe..." Saber said as he stopped and fell to the ground in a pool of his own blood.
All three girls look in horror at what has happened. Illya is upset her play was interrupted. Why would a Master sacrifice himself for a Servant.
Saber is stunned, why did he save her? A Master never interfered between Servants. Shirou was dying because she failed... failed to protect him.
Rin, Rin wanted to scream, to cry, to run to Shirou, instead she yelled "What? What were you thinking you fool?"
Only Berserker is unmoved by the scene. He is a weapon, he has nothing resembling emotion. He is but the instrument of his master's will. Only in the deepest recesses of his mind where the barest flicker of sanity remains does he feel something. Pride. Pride for the boy who acted so heroically. Had his own son lived, he would have wanted him to be like that boy.
"Enough," Illya announces, the sight has her confused. She was told that Shirou had stolen her father. That he was a selfish boy. She had believed her grandfather. Why would he lie? Right now she needed to think. "Let's go home Berserker, I'm bored" Illya leads Berserker away
Rin and the Servant look at Saber's ruined body. How is he still alive? He should be already dead. Every moment must be an agony without words to describe. But, he's still alive. He's lost pints of blood, his guts are spraying out of his body, his arms are in ruins.
Yet, he's still breathing, his heart is still beating.
As the girls watch, he starts to heal. The bleeding slows, the tears begin to mend, his body begins to return to normal. All they can do is stare at this.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Naruto wakes up, he's back in his room. Naruto rushes to the bathroom and empties his stomach. The sight was too gruesome. Pierced by a spear, cleaved almost in two, having a body turned to pulp, all in one night. Saber had gone through hell, and Naruto had witnessed it all.
It would be several minutes before Naruto calmed down. 'It's okay, it's all right, Saber lived. Whatever happened, he lived'
It would be hours before Naruto felt like eating, but eventually, he was able to force something down.
End Flashback
Shirou placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said softly, "it was terrifying"
Naruto punched Shirou's leg, "What the hell were you thinking?"
Shirou shrugged at that "I couldn't let her die, so I saved her."
"By getting yourself killed?" Naruto demanded
Shirou looked away from Naruto looking a bit embarrassed "Look, I already got the lecture once. I don't need it again."
Naruto let it go, but he still had several questions to ask. "Fine, but what about the other you?"
"Other...oh, you mean Archer." Shirou said as he recalled the past. "We're still not sure about him. The problem was that he had no memory of his past...at least until the end"
Naruto looked skeptical, "He looked like you"
Shirou nodded, "Yeah, we noticed" Shirou remembered how he his skin had turned dark from overusing his magic in the four hour duel with Seras.
At first, no-one made the connection. But when his hair turned white, Rin noticed. Shirou recalled when he visited Rin after his body had healed that she had shot up from her chair and whispered "Archer? How?" When Shirou corrected her, she turned red from embarrassment. While Shirou knew she had kept a suspicion about him, he had dismissed it.
That is, until he was awarded the Shroud of Martin. Even he wasn't that dense. One look in the mirror and he had almost fainted from seeing himself. Rin had theorized that Archer had been summoned to the past, but because he was from the future, his memories had been jumbled so as to prevent a paradox.
"All I can tell you Naruto is that we have only been able to develop theories, nothing concrete or provable." Shirou said. "Now is there anything else?"
"Why didn't you mention the Holy Grail?"
Shirou sighed "Because I'm not sure if there is one in this world. If there was one, I figure I would have known about it. Instead, I can find no rhyme or reason as to why I was summoned other than to save your life."
Naruto felt relieved to hear that. No Grail Wars for him thank you very much. Saber's experience was terrifying enough. "So, what will I dream about tomorrow?"
Shirou looked at Naruto "What makes you so sure that you'll dream about me?"
Naruto looked flabbergasted "B-but..." Shirou held his hand up
"I'm no expert at this kind of thing Naruto, but my experience says that you enter the dream cycle at random. Not every night will have you see my past."
Shirou spread a palm out "In any case, when you do dream next time, you'll see me get lecture, spar with Saber, and meet Fuji-nee."
Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, he had seen more than enough death. "Why do you call her Saber Saber?"
Shirou smiled at the question "That's what I always called her, and that's how you will call me."
"But it's too confusing." Naruto complained
"How bout you refer her as Ria, it's the last part of her true name." Shirou offered. While Arthuria was a famous name, Ria would never be linked to her.
Shirou stood up and began walking back to the rest of the Team Kakashi, the time for rest had ended.
Naruto followed along "You know, you never answered my first question."
Shirou reflected on the earlier question, "How many times I've died? Once. The rest of the times I was only nearly dead."
"How many times have you been nearly dead?"
Shirou smirked "Too many to count."
Naruto paled a bit at that, He was going to see that scene again? Many times? How had Saber stayed alive for so long?
Author's note
(1)First flashback scene I've ever written. Yay...this feels like a small achievement for me. Dear god, it was a pain in the neck making sure that Saber, Shirou, and Archer were kept individual, without changing Naruto's POV on things.
(2)Yeah...I didn't feel like explaining this for a second time. For more information on Servants and Command seals, look back on previous chapters or look it up online.
Seriously, the guy has no pupils in the game.
Acknowledgments: Thanks to L33t Horo for Betaing this fic...